


Minutiae

by CaedHarlowe



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Coda, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-11
Updated: 2015-10-11
Packaged: 2018-04-25 21:41:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4977532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaedHarlowe/pseuds/CaedHarlowe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anaanra Adaar deals with the uncertain fate of her mercenary company, and makes a friend.</p><p>The Wrath of Heaven coda.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Minutiae

Anaanra exits the chantry, weary and wary of Seeker Cassandra’s politicking. The joints of her hand spark and ache every time she flexes her fingers. Three days and she still has not fully recovered.

A handful of people turn at the sight of someone emerging, and still more turn once they realise who it it.

Ana ignores them. She scrubs at her eyes and her fingers come away streaked with green. Days-old vitaar flakes off as she dusts her hands. She feels for the small vitaar-pots at her waist, fingers pressing into the soft leather case. Karavi had gifted her the shimmering green powder in celebration of their last dragon kill. He had been one of Valo-Kas at the Conclave. Leliana had still not heard anything of Ana’s mercenaries, and she feared they were already gone.

None of them thought they would be needed. She needs to honour them. Their life, past or present. She needs the apothecary.

Ana purses her lips and brushes past a too-curious soldier, awe in his eyes even as he backpedals to get clear of her.

Adan’s door opens before she can reach for the handle. One of Leliana’s little scouts bursts out, strides long and angry even with one arm in a sling. She scowls, face screwed up and nearly purple as she waves a burlap sack at Ana.

“What kind of healer doesn’t have elfroot?”

“ _Apothecary_! I’m an apothecary!”

“Funny way of saying pain in the arse. You mind helping me gather— oh! Lady Herald. I’m sorry, please excuse me.”

“Hold a moment. I’ve seen you before.”

“Yes, Lady Herald. You closed that Rift for us, up near the tunnels.” Her eyes flick down to Ana’s hand, and Ana presses her palm into her thigh so she doesn’t shove her hand behind her back like a guilty child. “Can’t tell you how grateful we are for that. Been dead for sure, otherwise.”

Ana looks at the still-open door. “The apothecary has no elfroot.”

Adan appears in the doorway. “I have none, Herald. If you need something, you shall have to go out and gather it yourself.” He points a finger at them both before slamming the door.

“I’ll help you forage.” Ana tells the scout.

The scout grabs another sack from a nearby barrel. “Many hands make for light work, or so my granmama says. _I_ say twice the people usually means twice the chores. Name’s Aysun.”

“Well met, Aysun. My name is Anaanra. I am not Andraste’s anything.”

“Are you injured? Sure the heavyweights could dredge something up for _you_.”

“I’m fine. Which herbs are native to the area?” It’s too snowy for delicate shoots to survive. Ana has no magical talent, but even she could guess at how much felandaris would spring up in the Breach’s wake.

“There’s enough elfroot to choke a dragon, Adan’s being a piss about the cold is all. Not much else this time of year.”

Ana had only minor scrapes and bruises, but the chantry was still home to a dozen bedridden soldiers. The Pride demon had been ruthless.

“I’ll find elfroot for you. You broke your arm helping me.”

“We fill these bags, call it even.” Aysun nods approvingly at Ana. Her grin shows off a missing canine. “Got off lucky. Tesi was hit by that lightning whip. One of the Sisters won’t stop muttering about demon vallaslin.”

They descended the steps to Haven’s front gate, and Ana puts her shoulder to the gate, shoves it open through the built-up snow.

“Could have used the door.” Aysun says as Ana shuts it. Ana eyes up the door.

“I’m short, but not that short.”

Aysun looks at Ana. Ana meets her gaze and waits for Aysun to break eye contact. Aysun shrugs and heads out, speaking over her shoulder.

“Soft Vashoth don’t last long in northern Rivain. You seem harder than anything they might throw at you. You’ll need to be.”

Ana follows Aysun down a narrow path, their boots squelching in the sludge of torn up earth. Ana steps out to take her chances with the unsullied snow. Aysun sticks her foot off the path, watches it sink until the ice is nearly sliding over her boot, then pulls back with a sigh.

They snag stalks of elfroot as they walk, shaking off dirt and snow and filling the bags. Once they reach the open fields, Aysun stops her with an upraised hand.

“Heard the best plants grow in a small basin on the edge of the clearing.” She points in one direction, then swings her arm to point to her right. “The druffalo are over there. Don’t piss them off, whatever you do.”

“Noted.”

The two head for the basin, Aysun walking in the groove left behind Ana.

Ana wraps her coat closer around herself, fingers the thin leather and misses her heavy winter furs. They had been a going-away present, one of the only tangible keepsakes of her Kadantaam.

Ana keeps close to Aysun as they rummage through the snow.

“You’ve met vashoth before.” Ana pauses, waits. The elf shrugs, breath pluming in the air as she huffs.

“A handful only. Soft vashoth don’t last long in northern Rivain. Others don’t trust much. They stay for a night then move on. Further south, where it’s safer.”

“Do you miss it?”

“Of course. It was home.”

Ana has to ask, to be sure.

“Are you—?”

“ _Qunari_?” Aysun laughs, loud and open. She waves a hand at Ana’s annoyance and goes back to picking herbs. “Spirits, what do you think I’m doing here? A karataam came through our village looking for a couple of runaways. Left with Tesi when they decided to smoke the family out. Would have thought those vashoth killed the salasari with the stink they kicked up.

“Had Qunari friends, had Rivaini friends. None worth my life.”

Aysun falls silent after that, and the two work quickly. Darkness is falling, and they have enough elfroot to last a while. They’re almost back at the gate when Ana speaks.

“I wanted it for vitaar. To remember Valo-Kas by.”

Aysun slows. “They might be alive, you know.”

“Perhaps.”

“Were there any specific herbs you wanted?”

Ana rattles off a short list of herbs. She’d used her time picking, spent it thinking of the vitaars she wanted to mix.

“Have a few of those. Not every one, but you might get by with a few?”

Ana considers her offer. It doesn’t take long to decide.

“Which ones do you have?”

“You can see for yourself. Got a few Rivaini herbs, too, ones you might not have used.”

Ana grins at her, hand falling to her vitaar-pouch.

“I bet you a sovereign I’ve seen them before.”

“Will take that bet, Herald, _and_ your gold. Valo-Kas’ll get a better vitaar than anything you’ve made before.”


End file.
